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An aeronautical engineer in the U.S. Navy, his textbook Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators is still in print 44 years after its initial publication. Later he was a professor of safety science at the Traffic Safety Center at the University of Southern California. In 1975, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was concerned that a growing number of traffic accident deaths involved motorcyclists (it was up to about 10 percent in the 1970s), and it asked Hurt, a biker himself, to develop a methodology to investigate bike crashes. Hurt put himself on-call to respond to motorcycle crashes, and investigated 900 accidents in Los Angeles in 1976 and 1977. His results were published in 1981: Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures -- better known as the "Hurt Report". Hurt found that drivers not seeing motorcycles was the primary cause of the crashes -- not excessive speed. Also: helmets really work to prevent head injuries. His studies and conclusions led to safety classes for motorcyclists, which dramatically reduced injuries and deaths. "I don't think his contributions to motorcycle safety can be overstated," said Art Friedman, former editor of Motorcyclist magazine. Hugh "Harry" Hurt died November 29 from a heart attack. He was 81.
From This is True for 6 December 2009
Suggestions for further reading:
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More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride
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